Restaurant-check-protecting device



Jan; 8,.1929.

T. ANTHONY RESTAURANT CHECK PROTECTING DEVICE I Filed Jan. 16, 1928 51 INVENTOR Thor/ms Hui/20137 ATTORNEY THOMAS ANTHONY, or NEW YORK, N.

RESTAURANT-CHECK-PROTECTING DEVICE.

Application filed January 16, 1928. Serial No. 246,974.

This invention relates generally to protectors, and has more particular reference to a lunch room check protector.

The invention has for an object the provision of a device of the class mentioned which is of simple construction, efficient in action, and which can be manufactured.and sold at a reasonable cost.

In lunch rooms, and placeswhere records of purchases are kept by punching checks given to the buyers upon entrance to the establishment, many channels are left open for fraudulent persons to cheat the establish ment. One of the methods often used is to obtain checks with small amounts punched thereon from crooked insiders who steal from the cashier. The fraudulent person then enters the establishment and receivesa check in the usual manner. Purchases for a large amount are then made and the genuinc check given to the sales person for punching. Upon leaving the establishment the fraudulent check bearing a small charge thereon is given to the cashier and this amount paid. Another method used by insiders is that the cashier returns the paid checks to the waiter who gives it to new customer who spends more than the amount shown on the original check and adds the difference on the check. "The cashier collects the new sum and usually keeps the first amount for himself.

The check protector, hereinafter fully disclosed. is adapted tohe placed on the counter supporting the cash register. As the customers leave the establishment and pay their checks, the customer places the checks into the protector which cancels them by printing some notation thereon, such as paid or void and numbered. It is readily seen that should these checks be stolen from the cash desk, they cannot be used because of the cancollation which would be seen by the customer.

The device consists of an endless belt capabio of carrying checks placed thereon, beneath cancelling dies. These dies are me chanically operated in unison with the belt,

means for applying the cancellation to different parts of the checks are provided so that if a check passed thru the machine twice,

the manager hf the establishment canq'ues tion the cashier to find out whether some fraudulent person used a check previously cancelled. 1

For further comprehension of the invenwvith cash register tion, and of thefobjects and advantages thereof, ref erence will be had to the followingdescription'and accompanying drawing, and to the appended claims in which the various,

novel features of the ticularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, forming a material part of this disclosure Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a cashiers counter, and the check protector device there; on

invention are more par- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the check protector device.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken directly behind the near side wall as seen in Fig.2, equivalent to line 83 of Fig. 1.

Fig. l is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 44;'of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4:.

6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of 5. e F ig. 7 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, taken on the line 7+7 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail plan view of a portion of the belt used in the device.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally an ordinary cashiers counter provided 11., a bowl of toothpicks 12, some matches 13, and a change mat 14. The counter is illustrated as standing on floor 15, near the wall 16, and a common hinged shelf 17 extends from the Wall to the counter. The lunch check protector 18 rests on the counter near the register 11. r

The protector 18 has a frame of substan tially U-shape, consisting of an arm 19, a

bend 20, and. a second arm 21 having a hori' zontal top portion 22. A vertically disposed U-shaped strip 23 has its arms integral with the arms 19 and 21. Cover plates 2% are attached to the front and rear ends of the U strip 23. A base plate 25 is attached to the bottom of the frame and a front plate 26 is attached to the open front end of the frame.

Transverse shafts 27 have their ends mounted in the arms 19 and 21, and 28 are fixed on the shafts. Eachof the shafts are provided with a wormwheel 27 meshing with worm pinions 30 on a shaft 31 longitudinally mounted. A gear 32 is fixed on the shaft 31 and meshes with a pinion 33 connected with the electric motor 34. The shaft pulleys 31 issupported by standards 35 depending from the arm portion 22.

Bevel gear 36 is fixed on shaft 31, and meshes a bevel gear 37 on a vertically supportedshaft 38 extending upivards along one 7 side of the U-member 23. ,A bevel gear 39 is attached to shaft 38, and meshes With gear 40 on a horizontal shaft a1 supported from the top of the member 28. p

'A plurality of cams 42 are attached on the shaft 4L Eachcam is abutted by runners 43 on thetopends of rods 44 provided with printing dies 45 at their lower ends.

The printing dies l5 are vertically slidably mounted by engaging guides l6'projecting from the plates Tension springs 4LT are attached to 'the tops of the dies and'to pegs l8 projecting from the plates 24.- An inking tape 49 is mounted between the covers 24 and guided beneath the disc 45. The plates 2; are provided with small cover discs 50 which may be removed so that thetape d9 maybe manually advanced.

An endless belt 51 is mounted on the rollers 28 and is formed with a plurality of rows of bent slots 52 formed with lower enlarged recesses 53,:the're being as many rows as there are dies 45. Each of the jbent slots 52 has a button member (fl with an enlarged bottom flange 55 slidably arranged therein. A pointed member 56 is vertically slidably arranged in the button member and urged into extended position by expansion spring 57. Stitches 58 serve to secure the button memhersinany parts of the'slots.

In operation, the cashier closes a switch to operate motor 84. The motion of the motor is transmitted to rotate rollers 28 and move the belt 51,- and also to operate shaft 41 so that-"the dies d5 are periodically depressed against the belt 51, a co-acting stationary block 5-9 projects from thearm 19 beneath the belt, directly below the dies. As the cashier receives the checks from customers, he places them on any of the pointed members 56, the cheeks preferably are provided with apei tures for this purpose. The belt 51 moves the checks beneath the ribbon 49 and .the dies 45 cancel the checks. The gearing which drives the belt and the cams is so designed that each. check receives only one Cancellm tion, on any part thereof, as determined by the particular pointed memberupon ivhich the check is placed. 'lVhen the dies d5 dcscend, the pointed members 56 are depressed so as not to interfere with the cancellation operation. It is not very important after the checks have been cancelled Whether their apertures engaged on" the pointed" members, since they Will move along Withthebelt'by reasug of beingpnshed alongby the pointed eeaeee members. The threads 58 may bec ut and the positions of the pointed members readjusted, and then the flanges 55 may again be sewn in place. Qhecks indicated by numeral 60 are placed on the belt on the right hand side of ,the cancellation. means, and these checks drop off the belt upon the counter 10 on the -left-hand end of the belt.

lVhile I have shown and described a prein, an endless belt mounted in tl1e fi'a1iie,

means for driving the belt, connections from said driving means for operating the stamp ing means,andlaterally adjustable pins on the belt for carrying checks past the'stamping means in different relative positions to the stamping means, consisting of curved slots formed in the belt, and depressible pins mounted in different parts of the slots.

2. A lunch room check protector, comprising a frame, stamping means mounted therein, an endless belt mounted in the frame, means for driving the belt, connections from said driving means for operating the stamping means, and laterally adjustable pins on the belt forcarrying checks past the stamp ing means in different relative positions to the stamping means, consisting of curved slots formed in the belt, and depressible pin; mounted in different parts of the slots, the

lOO

depressible pins being normally urged to ex tended positions by expansion springs.

3. A lunch room check protector, comprising a frame, stamping means mounted therein, an endless belt mounted in the frame, means for driving the belt, connections from said driving means for operating the stamping means, and laterally adjustable pins on thebelt for carrying checks past the st amping means in different relative positions to the stamping means, consisting of curved slots formed "in the belt, and depressible pins mounted in different parts of the slots, the depressihle pins being normally urged to extended positions by expansion springs, and the stamping means being capableof depressing these pins so as to perform its functioning unhindered.

In testimony whereof I have afii-Xed my THOMAS urnour.

signature. 

